A final figure item to round out the work week comes in the delightful news from Toy’sworks that they’re producing a pair of figures sure to catch the attention of a lot of fans who didn’t expect them (myself included): first up is a PVC rendition of Clare, heroine of the Claymore manga and anime. She’s scheduled for release in June at 5,800 yen, 1/8 scale (13 cm tall) and comes with a removable cloak and exchangeable face part. Next up is Miyamoto Rei, heroine of Highschool of the Dead, the pulp zombie horror manga by Satou Shouji / INAZUMA of doujin circle Digital Accel Works. She goes on sale in May, at 1/8 scale (12 cm tall) with “sexy body parts” and her trademark pole included; the elevated price of 7,800 yen reflects both the extra torso and the “castoff tax” we’ve seen emerge over the past year or so – a tax I’ll gladly pay, in this case. Pictures below:

A bonanza of figure news today, including word on new CC and Rena prize figures from Geass and Higurashi, a 1/4 scale Mylene Hoffman PVC from Daiki Kougyou, a pair of new Ikkitousen girls from Griffon (along with Disgaea’s Rosalind), new information on Kaiyodo’s Revoltech Fraeulein Idolmaster Amami Haruka, Queen’s Blade Cattleya uncensored, new QB trading figures from Medicos, a limited alternate color Sekirei series from Ganbo, new looks at a couple of figures in Orchid Seed’s lineup, and more!

We’ve known it’s been brewing in the wings for a few weeks now thanks to a link on the Japanese Akiba Blog site, but as of today it’s finally live – English Akiba Blog. Little is known about the spinoff beyond what can be immediately seen: it’s a direct English translation of the content of the Japanese side, with advertisements tailored to an international audience from Hobby Search (figures) and Himeya (eroge); who is doing the translations is unknown, but their tone is decidedly Engrishy. It’s hard to say what impact this will have on the English language otaku news establishment in the long run, but from the perspective of one Japan-resident blogger it’s clear there’s a major new player on the scene, and we’ll be watching this one closely. Update: I just received an email press release from the organization behind the new English Akiba Blog that sheds a bit of light on who’s working on it and to what end. Text of the PR follows: